


You & Me

by DarkBalance



Series: Miraculous Challenge Fills [1]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe - Crack, Alya Césaire Ships It, Aromantic, Best Friends, Confident Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Crack, Fluff, Fluff and Crack, Fluff and Humor, Gabriel Agreste | Papillon | Hawk Moth Ships It, Gabriel Agreste's A+ Parenting, Humor, Matchmaker Alya Césaire, Meddling, Oblivious Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Other, Platonic Female/Male Relationships, Sort of? - Freeform, The Whole World Ships It, dream team, how do i tag again?, mostly because I couldn't find a not-awkward place to make it work, no beta we die like men, no miraculous
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-12
Updated: 2020-09-12
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:15:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26414770
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkBalance/pseuds/DarkBalance
Summary: Marinette Dupain-Cheng and Adrien Agreste are the bestest friends who only get married for the clout and exclusive cuddle rights.That's it. That's the fic.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Series: Miraculous Challenge Fills [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1927039
Comments: 4
Kudos: 91
Collections: Gen and Aro Prompts (Any fandom)





	You & Me

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by [Crimson_Square](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crimson_Square/pseuds/Crimson_Square) in the [GenAndAroPrompts](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/GenAndAroPrompts) collection. 
  * In response to a prompt by [Crimson_Square](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crimson_Square/pseuds/Crimson_Square) in the [GenAndAroPrompts](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/GenAndAroPrompts) collection. 



So, here’s the thing: Marinette Dupain-Cheng has never and will never be in love with Adrien Agreste. _That_ is propaganda created by one Alya Cesaire who was so smitten with the idea of her best friend becoming a stuttering, blushing mess in front of their celebrity classmate that she ran with the story and spread it all over the school. And the tabloids. And social media. Everywhere, really. In actuality, Marinette was still embarrassed about her tantrum the previous day as well as the whole closing-herself-in-an-umbrella thing. She was afraid that Adrien would tease her about it in front of their classmates and she was so tired of being picked on for her clumsiness. Marinette told Alya this, but _nooo~_ Marinette didn’t need to be embarrassed that she has a little crushy-crush on the Sunshine prince, it’s so adorable! Look at the way she blushes! Girl she has it _bad!_

No. No, Marinette does not have “it” bad. The only thing Marinette has is a strong desire to shake some sense into her so-called best friend. Oh. And literally all of the embarrassment that this has become _a thing_ that every girl in her class is involved with now and oh, God, Marinette hopes that Adrien does not find out about this.

On second thought, how has Adrien not found out about this? Is he seriously that dense?

_-_-_-_-_-_-_

Eventually, Marinette figures out that no, Adrien will not tease her in front of the class, and apparently he will also never figure out that Alya has her heart set on “Adrinette” becoming a thing. Marinette is able to become friends with Adrien. She gets to know the dork beneath the perfect face and perfect hair and learns that he is as far from perfect as he can get. And since he’s in the fashion industry, he can give her an insight to how it all works (as well as a chair at his more local photoshoots and exclusive tickets to his shows when his father allows), as well as a few books that she would not have known existed and samples of fabrics that would have been too expensive for Marinette to ever even look at. Eventually Marinette gets invited to his house where they do homework together, and Gabriel sometimes talks to her about her designs (and by “talk to” she means he asks if she still plans to be a designer and Marinette agrees. He’ll hum at her and maybe mention a contest before disappearing into his office again (which, according to Adrien, is supposed to be high praise) and sometimes the pair will play video games or practice piano or browse the internet and then have dinner together. Every once in a while (read: once a month. maybe.) Adrien is allowed to visit the bakery where he chatters away with Marinette’s mother in Mandarin and begins learning Cantonese. Her father consistently offers Adrien his daughter’s hand in marriage and the keys to the bakery, and every time both Marinette and Adrien blink (he in confusion, she in an effort to reduce her temper) and insist, no they have absolutely zero plans to marry.

Okay, _Marinette_ insists that they have absolutely zero plans to marry. Dear, sweet Adrien, bless his heart, politely declines on the grounds that he’s only fourteen and has no interest in that sort of thing. Only, eventually, they aren’t fourteen anymore. They’re fifteen. Then sixteen. Seventeen. Eighteen. As they get older, Adrien and Marinette only grow closer, but never romantically involved. They attend school functions together, hold hands, keep inside jokes and no one knows for sure, but their friends suspect that they even share the bed when they have sleepovers. Adrien knows Marinette’s bra size and Marinette buys Adrien superhero themed underwear (that he actually wears!) as joke. Neither one of them really date anyone for more than a few weeks before declaring, “they just aren’t what I’m looking for.” Alya still insists that’s because they already have each other, but that’s not it at all. Marinette and Adrien aren’t like that. They never have been. They never will be.

Of course that doesn't stop literally everybody and their mother, cousin, and cat from shipping the two of them together. Of course not. Because heaven forbid that a man and woman be best friends and never become lovers. Heaven forbid a gorgeous girl and handsome man walk a red carpet together and not be dating. Heaven forbid either of these kids turn twenty-one and not have gotten engaged and had a wedding.

No, seriously. Gabriel threatens Adrien's inheritance if he doesn't get his act together and put a ring on that girl's finger. You know, that or put some distance in between them (and by distance he meant entire countries and oceans).

Marinette's family was more understanding, but they still urged her to leave Paris to explore other relationships with other people. Who weren't named Adrien. Audrey Bourgeois was still very much interested in training Marinette as her protégé, and the fledgling designer, as MDC, had made a very good name for herself with her contest history.

Naturally, Adrien and Marinette gladly accepted tickets to New York City where they grew their reputations and explored other interests. Namely, Adrien decided that acting was a thing to try and wouldn't you know, he was actually pretty good at it? Okay, so it was voice acting, and sometimes he would get stuck in one voice or accent for a few days and Marinette would never let it go _even upon pain of death,_ but it was a fun five years, and they were still the best of friends, even after sharing an apartment, even after spending a summer in various states of undress because it was so damn hot, even after the whole COVID-19 debacle, even after that one time Marinette very nearly got them arrested or that other time Adrien almost committed murder.

It's only when they're nearing thirty, after the fifth wedding rumor and the second threat against Adrien's inheritance and the first threat on Marinette's career, that the two of them agree to get married. Strictly for the benefits (like the company, their careers, taxes and healthcare). And also so that Alya, Sabine, Tom, Nathalie, Gabriel, TVi, TMZ, Vogue, and several dozen other industry professionals would stop asking them when the wedding was.

Oh. And so that Marinette could design the most astonishing wedding gown anyone will see for the next decade. There was that too.

TLDR: Marinette Dupain-Cheng and Adrien Agreste are best friends who only got married for the clout and exclusive cuddle rights. Nothing else.

**Author's Note:**

>  **Prompt:**  
>  Someone gets married for decidedly non-romantic reasons: Tax reasons, wanting to stay with a platonic friend, getting their family of their back, having a good excuse to stay close to a partner-in-crime(-solving)... anything.
> 
> The outside world assumes the relationship is The Most Romantic One Ever™
> 
> The people involved never fall in love.


End file.
